the calling -- these are the moments, the times

Posted on 1 May 2014

Huberht Hudson, ship navigator on Ernest Shackleton's problem-ridden attempt to reach and cross Antarctica, wrote in a letter or diary,

"What a glorious age we live in!"

Musicians and artists (and, yes, ship navigators) seem to be at the breaking edge of the new consciousness that now pervades the planet, arising as a result of a Release of Spiritual Energy infusing the air, the minds, the hearts. (Read: a New Revelation.)

I hadn't heard of the group, The Calling, before, and consequently of their song, Our Lives.

'Cause these are the days worth livin' These are the years we're given And these are the moments These are the times Let's make the best out of our lives

Without responding to what that reason we're here might be, or without giving details as to what makes these days worth livin' or why these are the moments and these are the times, the song does, however, put out a call for people to lead worthwhile lives and to try their best.

The song is hopeful and we should be, too, just because these are the times. What times? The best? The only? The special? The promised? Obviously, this is a reference to some talk or mention of a momentous, important turning point in history, perhaps even a promise of a time when humanity will start to live in peace and harmony, learn to share the resources of the planet, and learn the reason for our existence and brief time on earth.

But we are given no further details.

But let's listen to the song:

One of the earlier songs that mentions something about changing times or new times is of course Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin'.

For any student of English, this song is a must hear, must study. It was the anthem of the 60s.

Dylan sings the song at the White House many decades after writing it:

Blackmore's Night is a group formed by Ritchie Blackmore, formerly of Deep Purple. They play traditional acoustic instruments. They do a lively, waltz-beat version of the Dylan tune on Dutch TV.

I've never heard of Safety Suit until now, and their song, These times.

But here we have a song that these times are hard and unforgiving and full of problems. Ah, alas, though! They will pass!

Tracy Chapman sings about starting all over and making a new beginning. She says it's time to make a unifed whole.

She sings of the new consciousness that has faith in humankind, respect for what is earthly, and an unfaltering belief in peace and love and understanding.

Canadian rocker and songwriter Bryan Adams also has a song that echoes this new day theme. The song is from the animation film Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron for which he wrote all the songs. It's called Here I Am.

Although song seems to relate to new day and new way that is alive with the beating of young hearts and this seem to conclude that it is the youth who characterize the new age, the reality is that humanity has collectively passed through its youth and is now entering its age of maturity. Like the song, The Passenger, the youth of the world want to think they are the center of attention and the cream of the crop, but such generation-centric thinking does not make space for the yet to be born, the newborn, the children, the old, the elderly. Like the Queen song says, We are the champions (of the world), they think that their generation has all the answers.

In his book, The Urban Ideal, Paolo Soleri talks about today's young people:

If our young people can avoid becoming too arrogant, then I think they might make sense of the situation. But for the moment there is quite a bit of arrogance, you know. They know everything. Nobody knows everything. If people develop from zero to seventy or eighty, there must be a reason for it. And so we cannot stop at twenty or twenty-five and say, "Now I've got it made," ignoring what a person learns beyonds his teens and early maturity. But perhaps there is a turning back now. Many young people are beginning to fell that they need more guidance than they thought they needed. . . . Many young people are desperately looking for guidance again. For a while they broke with all discipline, broke all the rules, and now they are finding out that you can't live without rules, without discipline. For in its essentials life is discipline, by definition. You take away the discipline, the biological discipline, and there is no life. It's just as simple as that.

Queen Ifrica feels that we lack heroes, role models. Her reggae style song cites numerous examples of heroic people but laments a shortage of noble souls in recent decades or years.

Intro: One civilization is not complete without its art The highest form of expression of human intelligence You have have become complacent Sitting down and allowing the other nations to run away with everything You have become a bunch of consumers You are creators rise up mighty people and accomplish what you will Without confidence you're twice defeated in the race of life

[:: VERSE 1 ::] They took away the voices, that gave the people pride Now we're plunging into darkness We all have to play our part, make a bold start Every disc jock, tell every artist Media houses, we notice you love support the slackness How so much alcohol in our parties While the girls a broke out And the something she drinked knocked her out Now she no care where they prop her up

[:: CHORUS ::] It's times like these I'm missing our heroes Times like these I really wish they where around Shouldn't have to be like this Marcus Garvey We know seh you tried your best, but we have fi go do the rest

[:: VERSE 2 ::] They bred up shotaz them, now we have a lot of them Prison pack up, now the graves them a go pack again The book the national bird wing Sell we out clean Me no think we own a god dam thing Jamrock why are we giving in to the trick weh them a trick with from the beginning Parents you need fi wake from the slumbering It's we children's blood that is running

[:: CHORUS ::] It's times like these I'm missing our heroes Times like these i really wish they where around Shouldn't have to be like this Bob Marley We know you neva die in vain We're gonna rise again ...heeey

[:: VERSE 3 ::] People use the fist hold the bell Beat promise until it swells Nobody nah go hear if you don't yell Listen weh them tell you about the bucket that go well Black woman put on you baggie That something should not sell That's how we know society's cruel Go ask who placed the crab into barrel PM, opposition stop with the quarrel Unite, come together, teach the people how fi chill

[:: CHORUS ::] It's times like these I'm missing our heroes Times like these i really wish they were around Shouldn't have to be like this Oh Miss Lou we need you A the first we heard a this Hundred and counting on the murder list

Repeat Verse 1: They took away the voices, that gave the people pride Now we're plunging into darkness We all have to play our part, make a bold start Every disc jock, tell every artist Media houses, we notice you love support the slackness How so much alcohol in our parties While the girls a broke out And the something she drinked knocked her out Now she doesn't care where they prop her up

[:: CHORUS ::] It's times like these I'm missing our heroes Times like these I really wish they where around We need you, we need you, we need you Sam Sharpe We need you, we need you, we need you Nanny... yeaaah

[:: CHORUS ::] It's times like these I'm missing our heroes Times like these i really wish they where around Shouldn't have to be like this Marcus Garvey

On the other hand, Ishmael feels that -- despite all the problems -- he is feeling better and more confident about the future.

It goes without saying that the New Day is here, since so many people are singing about it!

Ovid once wrote:

"Let others praise ancient times;

I'm glad I was born in these."

And let's close with still another Canadian group, Walk Off The Earth. This multi-talented and innovative music group does songs that appeal across the generations.

One of their songs, In These Times, we have again a mention or emphasis on the phrase "these times", along with an admission that, I guess I just don't want enough, I guess 'cause these times, never seen days like this."

Yes, these are one-of-a-kind, special days. Go Canada, go world, we're in synch.

I'll put the studio clip and then the full acoustic version video.

Let's build a peaceful world through music.

Our discussion is just a quick look at a budding awareness among musicians and poets that we are living in new times.

In Hindu and Buddhist religion, there are also cycles and larger units of time: kalpa and yuga. According to some calculations, we are due to enter Sat Yuga or Truth Yuga.

The sudden rapid advances in science and technology could not have come about by a sudden rapid increase in human intelligence. Since mind is but an aspect of spirit, the growing trajectory of inventions and marvels of science and technology could only have been brought about by the release of Divine energy upon all dwellers on the planet. Witness: the first telegraph message was sent in 1844, the same time that the Persian prophet, the Bab, announced his mission.